Containers and closure caps for same



y 1965 w. A. SCHAICH 3,181,719

CONTAINERS AND CLOSURE CAPS FOR SAME Filed Feb. 8, 1963 -IN VENTOR W-I'LBUR A. SCHAICH BY FIG. 3 QWQ ATI'ORN EYS United States Patent 3,181,719 CONTAINERS AND CLOSURE CAPS FOR SAME Wilbur A. Schaich, Maumee, Ohio, assignor to Owens- Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Filed Feb. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 257,159 Claims. (Cl. 215-46) My invention relates to improvements in containers and closure caps for the same and has for an important object the provision of a structure which will incorporate only the desirablecharacteristics of both the press-on side seal type of closure caps and the conventional screw or lugtype closure caps, together with novel eifective means for easing cap removal.

The press-on side seal closure caps may be applied to bottles and jars at almost unbelievably high speeds and are completely reliable with regard to scalability. Some difiiculty is experienced however in manually removing these caps, and generally requires the use of a prying type instrument. The well-known threaded or screw-type closure caps and so-called lug closure caps are relatively easily manually removed and re-applied by the consumer.

It is therefore an object of my invention to incorporate in an otherwise conventional press-on side seal closure cap, means functioning in response to independent bodily rotation of the closure cap on its container, to axially shift the closure cap outwardly relative to the container, loosening same and facilitating ready manual removal from such container.

A further object of my invention is the provision of camming means as an integral part of a bottle or jar neck for axially outwardly moving a boss-carrying press-on side seal type closure cap, incident to bodily rotation of the cap upon the bottle.

It is likewise an object of my invention to provide a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart camming surfaces or cams in the rim end of a glass container neck for engagement with internal bosses or protuberances on the under side of the panel or top portion of a side-seal closure cap, to the end that bodily rotation of the closure relative to the container will shift the cap axially toward the rim end and facilitate final removal of the closure.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of my application:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a closure cap and container neck incorporating my invention and taken along the plane of line 11 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the closure and container combination of my invention with a portion of the closure broken away.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the combination of FIG- URE 2 with a portion of the closure broken away.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the plane of line 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention it is incorporated in a glass container and sheet metal closure cap combination, but it will be understood that containers or caps of other rigid materials may be employed.

The container is a glass bottle or jar having a circular, mouth-defining wall 11 which terminates in an annular rim 12. Just beneath this rim is an outwardly downwardly tapered or flared exterior sidesealing annular surface 13. A circumferential retaining bead 14 is provided near the top portion of annular surface 13 which is intended for engagement with a part of the closure cap C at certain stages of a food processing operation and/or to secure the cap in place when used as a reseal for containers from which only fractional portions of the contents have been the margin of said panel.

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removed for use. This is more or less conventional structure and practice.

The metal closure cap C is of conventional form to the extent that it includes a circular panel 15 or top portion and an annular flared attaching skirt 15a depending from Within the lower part of .the skirt is an annular sealing gasket 16 or ring, such being secured in place by a clamping bead 17 or wire-edge, which firmly grasps the gasket and holds it against bodily shifting within the skirt. When capv C is assembled on container 10, the gasket 16 is forced over the bead 14 Y and into sealing engagement with sealing surface 13. Gasket 16 is formed from rubber or similar elastomeric material. When assembled and filled with a liquid containing product and retorted, a container and closure cap, as described, provide a vacuumized, hermetically sealed package for the product involved. Ordinarily, removal necessitates using an instrument of some sort as a lever to pry off the closure cap. Frequently this operation so distorts the closure that it cannot be used as a reseal. Both of these objections and others, I avoid by incorporating means whereby rotation of the closure cap is the initial step taken in breaking the seal and in response to such rotation, the cap is elevated sufliciently to so reduce the frictional engagement effectiveness between the gasket 16 and the sealing surface 13 that one may easily complete the removal step without in the least distorting the closure. Thus it may be re-used repeatedly as an effective seal.

Specifically, my invention involves providing an annular series of depressions or cams 18 on the rim 12 of the mouth-defining wall 11 of container 10. As illustrated, each of these cams comprises a generally axially inclined surface extending a short distance circumferentially of the rim and disposed below the normal surface of such rim. Although I show each such cam 18 as composed of a single incline 18a merging with the lower end of an upstanding wall or abutment 19, the Wall 19 may, if desired, be replaced by a second incline (not shown) so that each cam 18 would be of a broad shallow V-form. The panel 15 of the closure cap C is downwardly indented at circumferentially spaced-apart points near its margin to create internal downwardly projecting hollow bosses 20 or protuberances, which, when the container and cap are assem bled, ride upon the rim 12 and spaced to correspond to cams 18.

In such a package that has just been filled and sealed, the closure cap is so positioned upon the container that the cap bosses 20 lie in the lowermost end of the cams 18 or inclines, as shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the cams 18 on container rim 12 may be upstanding axially inclined surfaces and the cap bosses 20 will then be upstand- When one wishes to open the container it is only necessary to twist or rotate the cap and its gasket relative to the container. Immediately the bosses 20 ride upwardly along the cams 18 and thereby bodily shift the cap axially outward. This immediately reduces the degree of frictional bond between the gasket 16 and the sealing surface 13 so that complete removal of the cap from the container may be quite easily effected. Use of such a closure cap as a re-seal, as is obvious, involves merely pressing-on the cap until the gasket 16 has passed beyond the retaining head 14.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a container having a mouth-defining wall terminating in an annular rim, said wall being provided with an external, annular side-seal surface, said rim being provided with an annular series of axially inclined Patented May 4, 1965 t camming surfaces, a closure for said container comprising a panel portion constructed and arranged to overlie said container rim, an annular skirt depending from the margin of said panel portion, an annular sealing gasket internally mounted on said skirt adjacent to the free end of said skirt and frictionally engaging said side-seal surface of said container, said panel having a plurality of circumferentially spaced projections formed on the peripheral portion of said panel which overlies said container rim, said projections being constructed and arranged for respective engagement with said rim camming surfaces, whereby rotation of said closure cap relative to said container results in a concurrent axial displacement of said cap relative to said container.

2. In combination a container having a mouth defining wall terminating in a rim and formed exteriorly with an annular side-sealing surface axially spaced from the container rim, a closure cap telescoped over at least a portion of said wall and having an annular gasket sealingly engaging said side-sealing surface, an annular series of cams formed on the mouth defining wall axially outward of said sealing surface, and bosses provided on the closure cap for respective engagement with the cams, said cams and bosses operating in response to relative rotation of the closure cap and container wall about their common axis for axially shifting the closure cap toward the rim.

3. The combination defined in claim 2, the cams being formed on the rim and the bosses being formed on a panel portion of the closure cap.

4. The combination defined in claim 2, the cams constituting notches formed on the rim and the bosses depending from a panel portion of the closure cap.

5. The combination defined in claim 2, the side sealing surface tapering outwardly and downwardly from a line near the rim, and a gasket retaining bead formed above said side sealing surface.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/56 Hohl 21531 2/63 Foss et al 215-.31

FOREIGN PATENTS 391,120 10/08 France.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. 

2. IN COMBINATION A CONTAINER HAVING A MOUTH DEFINING WALL TERMINATING IN A RIM AND FORMED EXTERIORLY WITH AN ANNULAR SIDE-SEALING SURFACE AXIALLY SPACED FROM THE CONTAINER RIM, A CLOSURE CAP TELESCOPED OVER AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID WALL AND HAVING AN ANNULAR GASKET SEALINGLY ENGAGING SAID SIDE-SEALING SURFACE, AN ANNULAR SERIES OF CAMS FORMED ON THE MOUTH DEFINING WALL AXIALLY OUTWARD OF SAID SEALING SURFACE, AND BOSSES PROVIDED ON THE CLOSURE CAP FOR RESPECTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CAMS, SAID CAMS AND BOSSES OPERATIING IN RESPONSE TO RELATIVE ROTATION OF THE CLOSURE CAP AND CONTAINER WALL ABOUT THEIR COMMON AXIS FOR AXIALLY SHIFTING THE CLOSURE CAP TOWARD THE RIM. 